I’m a few years behind everyone else, I know, but today I came across the ‘No More Page Three‘ campaign. For those of you who are unaware, Page Three is a controversial daily feature in The Sun newspaper, each day printing a photograph of a topless glamour model across the entire page. It’s something that I have never understood, especially in this day and age. Surely we should have moved forwards by now? Though I think such a campaign should be weary not to inadvertently rouse the pro-page3 squad into action to save their beloved daily… well, it’s basically soft porn, really, isn’t it? Let’s face it, there is no other reason to pose topless shots in a newspaper than for men to gawp at and teenage boys to… hide in their bed sheets. They are not artistically shot, and so cannot be described as art, naked models means that they cannot be classed as fashion, there is not cultural positive to them… I see no place for them within any newspaper.

I’m getting carried away… my point is, what better way to wear a campaign t-shirt than with a leather skirt and chunky shoes? Yes, that was my point, honest.

Surely you’ve seen it? Everyone’s talking about it – the internet is going crazy over it. Twitter is pinging with supportive tweets and snaps. Celebrities are clamouring over each other to try and associate themselves with it. I’m talking about Emma Watson’s amazing UN Speech, which can be viewed here.

I’m a big believer in having idols. I think having people to admire and even envy (within reason) is healthy – without losing sight of ourselves, of course – as it inspires us all to embark on a path of self improvement, and so when those who we admire involve themselves in greater causes, such as charities, it inspires those who look up to them to become involved, and to step back and think ‘how can I help? Is there something about my lifestyle that contradicts this amazing cause? Is there something that I can do?’

I’ve heard some people say things such as ‘why is this little actress getting involved with this stuff? What difference can she make – she’s an actress’. Please. As a member of the Harry Potter generation, its fairly obvious to me just how influential Emma Watson is. The series may be over (for now… who knows, after all), but the Harry Potter generation is ongoing, and therefore whatever ‘Hermione Granger’ has to say, this age group sits up and listens.

It’s so great that she is obviously fully aware of this fact and is therefore using her voice wisely.

So yes, she is someone who I admire, in the mush that is the often-ugly world of Hollywood; a world of twerking, ‘accidental’ wardrobe malfunctions, sex tapes and… Jesus.. the Kardashians…I think I’d cry if either of my younger sisters turned around and said that they want to be just like one of the Kardashians or Miley Cyrus when they grow up, to be quite frank.

So this is a little shout out post to someone who actually speaks sense.. simply because I like people who speak sense, but they are such a rare find!

I don’t want other people to decide who I am. I want to decide that for myself.

All I can do is follow my instincts, because I’ll never please everyone.

But it’s a journey and the sad thing is you only learn from experience, so as much as someone can tell you things, you have to go out there and make your own mistakes in order to learn.

I don’t want the fear of failure to stop me from doing what I really care about.

There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. It’s not the absence of fear, it’s overcoming it. Sometimes you’ve got to blast through and have faith.

I have felt for the last 10 years I have had this battle; I’ve been fighting so hard to have an education. It’s been this uphill struggle. I was Warner Bros’ pain in the butt. I was their scheduling conflict. I was the one who made life difficult.

I don’t have perfect teeth, I’m not stick thin. I want to be the person who feels great in her body and can say that she loves it and doesn’t want to change anything.

The saddest thing for a girl to do is to dumb herself down for a guy.

I feel that young girls are told that they have to be a princess and fragile. It’s bullshit. I identify much more with being a warrior – a fighter. If I was going to be a princess, I’d be a warrior princess, definitely.

Don’t feel stupid if you don’t like what everyone else pretends to love.

As much as someone can tell you things, you have to go out there and make your own mistakes in order to learn.

Yes, I know that I have been all about London since I moved here, London, London, London, London this and London that, but today, I spotted a news article that really struck me in a way that I would not have expected; today, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, the last Mitford sister, Deborah Cavendish, passed away.

This isn’t a grand obituary, or any such thing, it just felt right to whip up a quick post for someone who always seemed to feature somehow in my consciousness, be it a day trip to Chatsworth, a Nancy Mitford novel or a documentary on the Mitford clan. Not to mention, someone who I’ve always envied for their style. Go to Chatsworth, and you will find countless paintings and photographs of the glamorous Duchess, and, later, Dowager Duchess.

Having spent just under four years living in Derbyshire, and before that, eighteen years just one county away in Staffordshire, Chatsworth house – the Cavendish estate – has always struck me as being the most magnificent house in the whole world. I have visted Blenheim and Versailles, and I still prefer Chatsworth. I think that preference is in part down to having spent my childhood reading and re-reading Pride and Prejudice, only to then pick up the remote and watch the BBC series (and later, Joe Wright’s beautiful 2005 version), on repeat. After all, rumour has it that Pemberley was based on Chatsworth, which was visited by Austen. I also think that it’s partly down to a consistent fascination with the famous Mitford sisters.

Can you blame me for having sat up straight and taken notice of them? It’s not every day that you come across a family of sisters as varied as the Mitfords: a novelist, a duchess, a naxi, a fascist, a communist and… Pamela, the one with the quiet life. I have lost count as to how many Mitford books I have read (both those written by Nancy and the numerous biographies and autobiographies, and so it just seems obvious that I would love visiting Chatsworth even more, it being the home of one of the fascinating six sisters, a home which is also one of the most beautiful houses in the country.

Like most of us, I never met the Dowager Duchess, but I saw what she and her husband, and later, her son have done to the estate over the years; the farm shops, the twee little cafes and the produce that lines the shelves of independent shops across the county, all to stop Chatsworth from becoming another National Trust property – not to mention the constantly updated art collection that lines the old walls in a more modernly styled wing of the grand house.

While this look started with the skirt, it’s fair to say that it really ended up revolving around the beautiful amethyst necklace. I’m such a sucker for gemstone jewellery, in all honesty… apparently to the extent that I will happily colour match an entire outfit to suit.

As the weather becomes increasingly erratic, I find myself really getting into the flow of layering my outfits, both in these stylised outfits and my day-to-day outfits. While the pinning of sagging sleeves would prove a pest after a while, I am sure, I am really into layering silk kimonos beneath warmer knitwear, blazers and outerwear. It’s just so comfy.

Th weather is driving me insane right now (see, there’s my compulsory weather-related moan of the day). Glorious sunshine one moment, blustering winds that I swear must come direct from the iciest depths of the North Pole the next. It’s time to start layering, and I really love matching motifs and patterns to the under layer.. or the bottoms.. so if I can match all three, that’s just best of all! I’m so ready for autumn now!

Like the rest of us, I can’t enough of the poncho, cape and ‘bigger is better’ trend that has taken the season by storm, and I’m suddenly finding myself spoilt for choice in every high street store as everyone clamours to make their mark on the trend, but personally, one of my newly discovered trend (once again, all thanks to my flatmate), is this bargain Zara scarf for just £26 (with a whole penny to spare!) Just look at it! Perfect for suddenly chills or spontaneous sunny picnics on these awkward in-between-season days when we just don’t quite know what will happen either way. I’m in love…